Some 980,000 Brits in the UK are dependent on the jobs provided by the brewing and pubs industry, according to a recent report cited on Caterer.com.

The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) reported that the pub trade contributes £21 billion to the British economy each year. This equates to £13.4 billion in wages, meaning people working in function venues, pubs and other areas serving alcohol have been kept in a job.

“These figures show how vital the trade is to the UK economy, with huge numbers of jobs dependent on the sector,” said Brigid Simmonds, the BBPA’s chief executive.

“With the economy struggling, these jobs are vital. With the government looking for growth, with the right policies, we could be creating thousands of new jobs,” she continued in Eat Out Magazine.

Simmonds also called for the government to impose a freeze in beer duty in the upcoming Budget, as she believed this would further support the industry.

However it is not known if prime minister David Cameron will comply with Simmonds’ suggestion, as he recently called for “tougher minimum pricing on alcohol.” However the reason for this has been attributed to the excessive drinking culture of young Brits, which he claimed was caused by “cheap supermarket drinks.”

As such, changes to alcohol prices and beer duty would be unfair to the hundreds of event venues that provide high-quality drinks, fully comply with pricing regulations, and do everything they can to encourage sensible drinking.